Renewal of the Covenant

29 [a]These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab,(A) in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.(B)

Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:

Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land.(C) With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those signs and great wonders.(D) But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.(E) Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led(F) you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.(G) You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink.(H) I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.”(I)

When you reached this place, Sihon(J) king of Heshbon(K) and Og king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them.(L) We took their land and gave it as an inheritance(M) to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.(N)

Carefully follow(O) the terms of this covenant,(P) so that you may prosper in everything you do.(Q) 10 All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, 11 together with your children and your wives, and the foreigners living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water.(R) 12 You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, 13 to confirm you this day as his people,(S) that he may be your God(T) as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 14 I am making this covenant,(U) with its oath, not only with you 15 who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.(V)

16 You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. 17 You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold.(W) 18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns(X) away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.(Y)

19 When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing(Z) on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,”(AA) they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. 20 The Lord will never be willing to forgive(AB) them; his wrath and zeal(AC) will burn(AD) against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the Lord will blot(AE) out their names from under heaven. 21 The Lord will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster,(AF) according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.(AG)

22 Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it.(AH) 23 The whole land will be a burning waste(AI) of salt(AJ) and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,(AK) Admah and Zeboyim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.(AL) 24 All the nations will ask: “Why has the Lord done this to this land?(AM) Why this fierce, burning anger?”

25 And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt.(AN) 26 They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them. 27 Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book.(AO) 28 In furious anger and in great wrath(AP) the Lord uprooted(AQ) them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.”

29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God,(AR) but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.(AS)

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 29:1 In Hebrew texts 29:1 is numbered 28:69, and 29:2-29 is numbered 29:1-28.

29 [a]These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites while they were in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Mount Sinai.[b]

Moses Reviews the Covenant

[c]Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the Lord did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to his whole country— all the great tests of strength, the miraculous signs, and the amazing wonders. But to this day the Lord has not given you minds that understand, nor eyes that see, nor ears that hear! For forty years I led you through the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out. You ate no bread and drank no wine or other alcoholic drink, but he provided for you so you would know that he is the Lord your God.

“When we came here, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. We took their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh as their grant of land.

“Therefore, obey the terms of this covenant so that you will prosper in everything you do. 10 All of you—tribal leaders, elders, officers, all the men of Israel—are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God. 11 Your little ones and your wives are with you, as well as the foreigners living among you who chop your wood and carry your water. 12 You are standing here today to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God. The Lord is making this covenant, including the curses. 13 By entering into the covenant today, he will establish you as his people and confirm that he is your God, just as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

14 “But you are not the only ones with whom I am making this covenant with its curses. 15 I am making this covenant both with you who stand here today in the presence of the Lord our God, and also with the future generations who are not standing here today.

16 “You remember how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we traveled through the lands of enemy nations as we left. 17 You have seen their detestable practices and their idols[d] made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. 18 I am making this covenant with you so that no one among you—no man, woman, clan, or tribe—will turn away from the Lord our God to worship these gods of other nations, and so that no root among you bears bitter and poisonous fruit.

19 “Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, ‘I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.’ This would lead to utter ruin! 20 The Lord will never pardon such people. Instead his anger and jealousy will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will come down on them, and the Lord will erase their names from under heaven. 21 The Lord will separate them from all the tribes of Israel, to pour out on them all the curses of the covenant recorded in this Book of Instruction.

22 “Then the generations to come, both your own descendants and the foreigners who come from distant lands, will see the devastation of the land and the diseases the Lord inflicts on it. 23 They will exclaim, ‘The whole land is devastated by sulfur and salt. It is a wasteland with nothing planted and nothing growing, not even a blade of grass. It is like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger.’

24 “And all the surrounding nations will ask, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why was he so angry?’

25 “And the answer will be, ‘This happened because the people of the land abandoned the covenant that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 26 Instead, they turned away to serve and worship gods they had not known before, gods that were not from the Lord. 27 That is why the Lord’s anger has burned against this land, bringing down on it every curse recorded in this book. 28 In great anger and fury the Lord uprooted his people from their land and banished them to another land, where they still live today!’

29 “The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.

Footnotes

  1. 29:1a Verse 29:1 is numbered 28:69 in Hebrew text.
  2. 29:1b Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.
  3. 29:2 Verses 29:2-29 are numbered 29:1-28 in Hebrew text.
  4. 29:17 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung.

The Lord's Covenant with Israel in the Land of Moab

29 These are the terms of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab; all this was in addition to the covenant which the Lord had made with them at Mount Sinai.

Moses called together all the people of Israel and said to them, “You saw for yourselves what the Lord did to the king of Egypt, to his officials, and to his entire country. You saw the terrible plagues, the miracles, and the great wonders that the Lord performed. But to this very day he has not let you understand what you have experienced. For forty years the Lord led you through the desert, and your clothes and sandals never wore out. You did not have bread to eat or wine or beer to drink, but the Lord provided for your needs in order to teach you that he is your God. (A)And when we came to this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to fight against us. But we defeated them, (B)took their land, and divided it among the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. Obey faithfully all the terms of this covenant, so that you will be successful in everything you do.

10 “Today you are standing in the presence of the Lord your God, all of you—your leaders and officials, your men, 11 women, and children, and the foreigners who live among you and cut wood and carry water for you. 12 You are here today to enter into this covenant that the Lord your God is making with you and to accept its obligations, 13 so that the Lord may now confirm you as his people and be your God, as he promised you and your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 14 You are not the only ones with whom the Lord is making this covenant with its obligations. 15 He is making it with all of us who stand here in his presence today and also with our descendants who are not yet born.

16 “You remember what life was like in Egypt and what it was like to travel through the territory of other nations. 17 You saw their disgusting idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. 18 (C)Make sure that no man, woman, family, or tribe standing here today turns from the Lord our God to worship the gods of other nations. This would be like a root that grows to be a bitter and poisonous plant. 19 Make sure that there is no one here today who hears these solemn demands and yet convinces himself that all will be well with him, even if he stubbornly goes his own way. That would destroy all of you, good and evil alike. 20 The Lord will not forgive such a man. Instead, the Lord's burning anger will flame up against him, and all the disasters written in this book will fall on him until the Lord has destroyed him completely. 21 The Lord will make an example of him before all the tribes of Israel and will bring disaster on him in accordance with all the curses listed in the covenant that is written in this book of the Lord's teachings.

22 “In future generations your descendants and foreigners from distant lands will see the disasters and sufferings that the Lord has brought on your land. 23 (D)The fields will be a barren waste, covered with sulfur and salt; nothing will be planted, and not even weeds will grow there. Your land will be like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed when he was furiously angry. 24 Then the whole world will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this to their land? What was the reason for his fierce anger?’ 25 And the answer will be, ‘It is because the Lord's people broke the covenant they had made with him, the God of their ancestors, when he brought them out of Egypt. 26 They served other gods that they had never worshiped before, gods that the Lord had forbidden them to worship. 27 And so the Lord became angry with his people and brought on their land all the disasters written in this book. 28 The Lord became furiously angry, and in his great anger he uprooted them from their land and threw them into a foreign land, and there they are today.’

29 “There are some things that the Lord our God has kept secret; but he has revealed his Law, and we and our descendants are to obey it forever.

29 [a]These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.(A)

The Covenant Renewed in Moab

[b]Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land,(B) the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.(C) I have led you forty years in the wilderness. The clothes on your back have not worn out, and the sandals on your feet have not worn out;(D) you have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink—so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.(E) When you came to this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us for battle, but we defeated them.(F) We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.(G) Therefore observe the words of this covenant and perform them, in order that you may succeed[c] in everything that you do.(H)

10 “You stand assembled today, all of you, before the Lord your God—the leaders of your tribes,[d] your elders, and your officials, all the men of Israel, 11 your children, your women, and the aliens who are in your camp, both those who cut your wood and those who draw your water(I) 12 to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, sworn by an oath, which the Lord your God is making with you today, 13 in order that he may establish you today as his people and that he may be your God, as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.(J) 14 I am making this covenant, sworn by an oath, not only with you 15 who stand here with us today before the Lord our God but also with those who are not here with us today. 16 You know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. 17 You have seen their detestable things, the filthy idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, that were among them.(K) 18 It may be that there is among you a man or woman or a family or tribe whose heart is already turning away from the Lord our God to serve the gods of those nations. It may be that there is among you a root sprouting poisonous and bitter growth.(L) 19 All who hear the words of this oath and bless themselves, thinking in their hearts, ‘We are safe even though we go our own stubborn ways’ (thus sweeping away the moist with the dry)[e] 20 the Lord will be unwilling to pardon them, for then the Lord’s anger and passion will smoke against them. All the curses written in this book will descend on them, and the Lord will blot out their names from under heaven.(M) 21 The Lord will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the law.(N) 22 The next generation, your children who rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who comes from a distant country, will see the devastation of that land and the afflictions with which the Lord has afflicted it(O) 23 all its soil burned out by sulfur and salt, nothing planted, nothing sprouting, unable to support any vegetation, like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his fierce anger(P) 24 they and indeed all the nations will wonder, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused this great display of anger?’(Q) 25 They will conclude, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 26 They turned and served other gods, worshiping them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them; 27 so the anger of the Lord was kindled against that land, bringing on it every curse written in this book. 28 The Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, fury, and great wrath and cast them into another land, as is now the case.’(R) 29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to observe all the words of this law.

Footnotes

  1. 29.1 28.69 in Heb
  2. 29.2 29.1 in Heb
  3. 29.9 Or deal wisely
  4. 29.10 Gk Syr: Heb your leaders, your tribes
  5. 29.19 Meaning of Heb uncertain